“It’s not somewhere generally that we would look for something like seafood and I would say, on this occasion, the people that are involved are seasoned and so more and more educated and cunning with every time they do it.”
Two men were originally seen driving a vehicle along a remote beach on Wednesday. The pair were among four occupants of the car when it was later stopped by police.
Constable Prentice said he hoped this was a “timely reminder” to stick to the rules around gathering shellfish.
The daily limit, per gatherer, for pāua in the Central Regional Fishing Zone is five, for instance.
“Paua poaching on any of our remote coastlines is a significant issue,” said Prentice.
“The message here is that even on the really remote parts of our East Coast coastline, MPI and police are out and about, we are making the necessary checks and there’s a high chance that people will be stopped.”
Investigations following Wednesday’s seizure remain ongoing.
